The cape gooseberry goes by many names, ground cherry and goldenberry being the most common. It is part of the family called physalis, a nightshade relative of the tomato and some other ground-growing berries. Its origins are not well known, though it is native to several places, including Peru, Chile, and South Africa. While grown for its fruitful harvest, in most native places, it also grows wild.
Cape gooseberries have leaves that look like hearts and flowers that look like bells, which form a “bladder” over the fruit as it develops. Once matured, the fruit forms a straw-like husk. The shrub grows to a meter in height but if well maintained can reach two meters.
The cape gooseberry is an excellent source of vitamins and is a good source of energy, protein, and phosphorus. It is also rich in polyphenols and carotenoids. The cape gooseberry can be grown in almost any environment and is an easy plant to care for.
Its typical season differs by region: In the south, fruit develops from summer to the next spring, and in central areas, it grows from spring to summer and will bear fruit. In northern areas, fruit will yield from late summer until the first frost. It can handle cold temperatures but is not susceptible to heat, though it may grow some mildew in high moisture climates. The perfect climate for the goldenberry is a moderate temperature.
How to Plant Cape Gooseberry
The cape gooseberry is an annual. To yield the most fruit, it is best planted in a low-fertility soil, as in high-fertility soil it will most likely yield useless vegetation. It is adaptable to most soil types and will grow almost anywhere, although it does best in sand or gravel. Cape Gooseberry especially thrives in the sun, in fields, ditches, or among other crops. If you live in a colder region, however, the cape gooseberry will need some protection from frost. Planting them next to a building or a wall will be enough. You can also use plastic row covers. Plant the seeds once, and they will take care of themselves. Cape gooseberry thrives on neglect.
How to Care for Cape Gooseberry
The cape gooseberry is easy to care for. In fact, it doesn’t need much care at all. The plant does need about 800 milliliters of water daily, and excess water is not good for it. Pruning is not required until after the first harvest. Apart from that, there is not much to do to care for this plant. All you need to do is water it, and cape gooseberry will grow on its own.
How to Harvest Cape Gooseberry
The goldenberry has many harvests in a season. Flowering can last up to 75 days after seeding, and the first harvest usually occurs up to 100 days after that. It takes months for the fruit to ripen. When it does, it will produce fruit for up to three years, but after the first year, the fruit is usually smaller. Some fruit will fall to the ground, and if still in the husk, it will remain edible up to several days.
Pests and Diseases
Usually, bugs are not an issue until the goldenberry grows large. In certain areas, if well maintained, pests are not an issue. Birds do consume the fruit, however. If planted in a high-moisture climate, mildew may form on the fruit. This can also happen with excessive rainfall. This plant can sometimes fall victim to tobacco mosaic virus, giving its leaves distinct bacterial leaf spots.
Varieties of Cape Gooseberry
There are five varieties of this plant. The giallo rosso has fruit that is best eaten raw. And if grown in an area with a mild winter, it will last several years. The giant gets its name because it can grow up to five feet and has large and delicious-tasting fruit, though it requires more time to grow. The giant poha berry has fruit that grows an inch in diameter. Its leaves are different from the other plants of the same family and are fuzzy and grayish in color.
The golden berry has fruit that can grow to two inches in diameter. The pulp of the fruit is also much sweeter and full of flavor. It is resistant to frost, unlike the other varieties. However, it does take a year and a half to bear fruit. The long aston is actually a selection of golden berry. It has a rich golden color, unlike other types.
Unfortunately, few people grow cape gooseberry for commercial farming. This might be because the fruit would be hard to ship—but it is perfect as a local farming crop. In its native homes, it is common to see cape gooseberry grown in such a way. The plant has many uses, jams being one of the best, and for centuries, people have used it as a diuretic and also as an antiasthmatic treatment. In South Africa, they grind the leaves into medicine for inflammation. In Australia, they use the leaves for enemas for abdominal relief in children. Cape gooseberries have medicinal as well as nutritional value.
Common Questions and Answers About Cape Gooseberry
by Erin Marissa Russell
Can you freeze cape gooseberries?
Yes, freezing is one way to preserve cape gooseberries. You can either place the berries into a container and freeze or lay them out on a cookie sheet to freeze before packing into a container. Using the cookie sheet to freeze first prevents the berries sticking together so you can later remove the portion you need easily.
Can you grow cape gooseberry from cuttings?
You can grow cape gooseberry from cuttings by taking your cutting during the plant’s dormant season, which is from mid-autumn to late winter. The very best times to take cuttings are just after leaves have dropped or in spring, right before the buds open. Do not take cuttings during especially cold weather. Choose a cutting that’s from an area of strong growth at least one year old. Trim the soft, new growth off the tip of the branch, then cut the branch into six-inch sections. Make your top cut at an angle, just above a bud. Make your bottom cuts just below a bud, and cut in a straight line.
Use deep pots for rooting cuttings, filled with a mixture of compost and coarse sand. Treat the bottom end of each cutting with hormone rooting powder, then bury to half its height in the soil mixture in your container. Keep the pots in a cold frame, greenhouse, or unheated garage, shed, or patio. Leave them there until the next autumn, by which time they will have grown roots. Transplant to their permanent locations in your garden, and you will see them bear fruit in three or four years.
Can you grow cape gooseberry in pots?
Yes, you can grow cape gooseberry plants in containers as long as they get at least six hours per day of sunlight and the soil in the container is well-draining. (Of course, containers should have drainage holes, as with anything else you plant.)
Do cape gooseberries need full sun?
Cape gooseberries need full sun to thrive, which means at least six hours a day of bright sunlight.
Do cape gooseberries ripen after picking?
Yes, cape gooseberries will continue to ripen after you pick them, especially if you place them in a windowsill to ripen.
How do you germinate cape gooseberry seeds?
Start your seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost in your area. Lightly cover the seeds with just a sixteenth of an inch of soil, and keep the soil moist while they germinate and grow. Transplant outdoors once the weather has warmed up.
How do you know when cape gooseberries are ripe?
You know your cape gooseberries have ripened when the husk around the berry has dried out and lost its color. The berries may have fallen off the plant at this point. If you remove the husk from a berry and see it is not yellow but has a greenish tint, place it on a windowsill so it can continue ripening. It is ripe when the entire fruit is yellow or orange.
How long do cape gooseberries take to germinate?
It takes two to six weeks for cape gooseberry plants to germinate under ideal conditions.
How long do cape gooseberries take to grow?
Seeds take two to six weeks to germinate. It takes 90-120 days for the plants to become mature. After the flowers have been pollinated, the fruit will be mature in 70 to 80 days.
Is cape gooseberry a perennial?
Cape gooseberry plants are perennial in the tropics and annual in other temperate regions where they are grown.
Is cape gooseberry edible?
Yes, the fruit of cape gooseberry plants is edible. Cape gooseberries can be eaten raw or cooked, and they are used in savory as well as sweet dishes.
Is cape gooseberry poisonous to humans, dogs, or cats?
The unripe fruit, leaves, and flowers of cape gooseberry are poisonous to humans. The plant is also poisonous to dogs and cats. Consumption or contact with skin can result in collapse, dilated pupils, diarrhea, low body temperature, seizures, and vomiting. If it contacts with skin, rinse reddened areas with water for 10 minutes. If consumed, remove any remaining plant material from your pet’s mouth and rinse out the mouth. Then contact your veterinarian. With questions about human ingestion, contact the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222. For questions about ingestion by pets, contact ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Hotline at 888-426-4435.
Should cape gooseberries be refrigerated?
Cape gooseberries kept in their husks stay fresh for a few months without refrigeration. If you need to keep them longer than that, consider freezing the berries.
Where do cape gooseberries grow?
Cape gooseberries first came from Brazil, but they spread for their territory to include Peru and Chile. By 1774, it was being grown in England, and in 1807, settlers were growing it at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. It was quickly brought to Australia and Hawaii, and is only now beginning to get cultivation in the United States.
Alexandria Harkins is a writer with a passion for literature. Born and raised in Georgia, she now raises her own family in the beautiful blue ridges of the state. With a passion for the earth and all things natural, she hopes to one day assume the family green thumb. For now she studies all things botanical so that she can gain knowledge to start her own herb garden.
Learn more about cape gooseberries
List of berries from A to Z
Growing berries in the kitchen garden
National Academies Press:
Purdue University
Hartley Botanic
CRFG
Purdue University covers Cape Gooseberry
Thanks you for share .
Can you grow cape gooseberries in pots??
I grow them in large pots
Yes! I am so happy with them and just havest a few yesterday for breakfast:) my pot is 20 inch deep and 20 inch diameter at top. But I put two flowers plants in front, one elephant ear in the middle and cape gooseberry at the back with one salad cucumber at the side. So I think gooseberry really don’t require too much for grow:)
Excellent. My plant has started flowering and small fruits have started setting in.
Yes.
I’ve started last September from fruit seeds at the kitchen window they grow to about one meter so far ( it was a trial)
They got a beautiful leaves very soft though easy to break, kept in the garage close to a big sunny window
So far there is no sign of fruits??? But I’m enjoying my success as it was a personal trial. UK weather not promising to keep the plant outside so I’ll wait and see
It will require a pollinators or manual pollination, to form fruit. If not pollinated, you basically have a nice potted plant.
I was given a small seedling by a teacher – via child who, of course, was going to look after this seedling for a whole 3 days…..
Now, after 2 years in Bedfordshire, this monster is over 7 foot tall (so much for ‘up to 4 foot…’ ! )
I get a few fruit every year, loads of flowers but I guess British pollinators have no idea what this thing is so move onto plants they know.
Yes you can, they love it, as long as it is free draining, the roots will go downwards to the moister through the pot into the soil, giving them a perfect growing environment, dry at the top and moist at the lower level. I have been growing cape Goose berries here in Guernsey, uk channel island for the past 20 years in a greenhouse, they become perennial producing fruit all year round. I prune half of the plant down to about a foot off the ground, once that side comes into production, I cut back the other side of the plant. In the greenhouse they can grow to 3meters high !
I grow Cape Gooseberry for the first time this summer – in Norway. We are having an unusual sunny and hot summer, and now I have hundreds of ripe tasty berries, and much more to come. 🙂 Anyone with knowledge of putting them in the freezer? Nice to be able to eat them in the winter, and I prefer to freeze berries without og with only vry little sugar. 🙂
My cape gooseberry has striped hard shell bugs eating the leaves. What natural remedy can I use to get rid of them
Thank you
I have the same problem, we have the striped bugs (i think they may be the striped cucumber beetle) and we have lots of little black grubs. Doesn’t seem to matter how much time you spend squishing them, more and more appear as the leaves get less and less. Would also like to know what kind of spray will get rid of them. We love our gooseberries but have been lucky to get a dozenfruit of the many shrubs that have popped up all over the garden…
I sprayed Neem oil solution after squishing the grubs on the leaves. I also had the coloured oblong beetles which I picked out as I saw them. Both these pest issues resolved within the month.
Without knowing where you live and a good description of the insect it is impossible to know for sure what is eating them. There are thousands of striped insects.
My guess is you are dealing with Colorado potato beetles. They have developed resistance to many insecticides.
My Cape Gooseberry bush is growing yellow mushrooms/toadstools at the base. In Melbourne, Australia we have had high temperatures and lots of rain. It is in a large pot alongside a blueberry bush which is going extremely well. Any help or info on the yellow mushrooms and why would be a help.
Water with a solution of Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulphate). Start this treatment early in the growing season………good luck. Fungi can be persistent and sometimes are a symptom of poor growing conditions. Don’t keep your soil around your plants overly wet and don’t overcrowd them to ensure good ventilation.
We’ve been fairly lucky. They seem to grow very well in Vancouver and the rain hasn’t resulted in any kind of fungus until very late in the season. That said, we had one year where we were assaulted by aphids and they specifically targeted our cape gooseberries over all other plants in the garden. Neither ladybugs or mantis’ were able to control their numbers. Fortunately the following year there was no issue.
What variety did you have that you encountered a 2 inch fruit? We seldom see anything over 1.5cm.
Hi Vertical Gardener,
I am also trying to grow Cape Gooseberry here in Vancouver and have received a couple of smaller plants from my sister. Right now (Sept 13, 2019) I am wondering if they will make it through the winter. The plants are about 2 feet hight with some berry pods on them that I don’t think will ripen before winter arrives. Are your plants annuals or perennials? If they are perennials, have you needed to protect them over the winter?
Any information would be great.
Thanks
Howard
They are loved by children. I haven´t read it in any post, so I think it´s a wonderful issue.
Cape Gooseberry is not native to South Africa, as stated in the article.
Hi, I live in the north of Spain and grew a cape gooseberry for the first time last year. It grew massive and had loads of delicious berries. I cut it back down to about a foot high in the winter and it died.
Thankfully I had given a cutting to a friend who has now given me a cutting of the cutting!
I don’t know why it died as it was so thick and healthy. Perhaps too much pruning…
Great article, thanks!
I live in Florida, USA. I bought some gooseberry seeds on a visit to South Africa in March. I planted 12 of the seeds in peatmoss (on the advice of the lady who sold them to me) and eight of them germinated on a windowsill in about a week. One has grown to 6 inches tall while the others are stuck at about 2 inches. Their stems seem weak and even the 2 inch ones need supporting otherwise they just fall down!. My main question is: How do I know when it is time to transplant (the 6 inch one particularly) to a bigger pot?
Thanks for any advice!
Hi I’m growing Cape Gooseberry here in the UK a 1st for me I’ve got some fruit forming already just hope they are as good as the ones I had while on holiday in Cyprus in January, I brought a couple of berries home with me ?
Did you grow the cape gooseberries from seed from fruit you had eaten? I’m wondering if I could grow seed from supermarket ones? I’m in Essex UK
You can buy the fruits in ASDA or COSTCO where I buy them when in season??
The Cape Goosberry has grown uncredibly well this year with large and numerous fruits. I am in north western Spain. The problem is that most fruits fall off the plant while they are still green. Too much water? Not enough sun? Any ideas?
As they are poisonous while unripe, I dare not try any recipies with them. Too bad.
Thanks for the article. I learned a lot.
I live in Ontario Canada & was given a few Cape bushes that were being removed from a garden & told to get them in the ground ASAP. I’m a little confused about pot or ground growing. I have 1 in a pot which is not doing as well as the 1 in the ground. Both have a lot of fruit on them. Our winters here can b brutal so not sure if the one in the ground will survive. Do I understand correctly that they will only bare fruit for most 3 seasons? & pruning to b done after the last of fruit has finished. The one in the ground is growing like a vine through the grass
Can you please be more specific with climates and geography. Why?
In the southern Hemisphere the term
“northern area” has a completely different meaning climatically to what it means in the Northern hemisphere.
If you are in Peru, Chili, South Africa, Australia, “north” means hot and humid and the “south” means cold.
But this is the opposite if you are in the Northern hemisphere like North America, where the further north you go equals cold!
Re:
“Its typical season differs by region: In the south, fruit develops from summer to the next spring, and in central areas, it grows from spring to summer and will bear fruit. In northern areas, fruit will yield from late summer until the first frost. It can handle cold temperatures but is not susceptible to heat, though it may grow some mildew in high moisture climates. The perfect climate for the goldenberry is a moderate temperature.”
Thanks for your comment. We are primarily focused on a USA audience, so most of our articles are going to be written from that perspective and focus on gardening zones within that country.
My gooseberries are beautiful yellow but so sour, it’s not eatable. How can I sweeten it on the bush? Will epson salt work like it does for stawberries?
I live in Swakopmund Namibia and it’s a misty town with mild temperature. I got a cape gooseberry plant as a present. After reading all the comments I think I will put the plant in a pot and leave indoors. Holding thumbs !!
What is the difference between Cape Gooseberries and Chinese Lantern?
Are they one and the same?
Although they look the same in the early stages and belong to the same family the Chinese lanterns do not bear fruit.
Dare I cut back a cape gooseberry plant that is spreading wildly? Or should it be tied up onto a stake or trellis?
My cape gooseberry plants are growing flowers when the plants are only 4 inches tall. Can they support the weight of fruit this young, or should I pinch the flowers off until the plants are taller? Can I pollinate the flowers by tapping on them like with tomatoes?
I am growing the giant poha berry variety (the one that is lower growing with grey-green leaves) and the same thing is happening with me. It is pretty short and not that wide at all yet but it had 7 fruits on it already with more flowers on the way. I saw a youtube video and he showed how he pinched off the tiny flowers that were starting to show up…..by doing that you cause the plant to branch out and grow more leaves outward. So I pinched off four of the developing fruits and left only three in case I want seed. I will also continue to pinch off any new flowers. I am hoping that by doing this I can grow a larger plant, and once it is a bit larger I will let the flowers and fruits grow freely.
My gooseberry plants were put in in the spring. They are now almost as tall as I am. One or two had a couple of blossoms, nothing followed,
They are now bending over to the ground. Will they die in Atlanta winter I wonder?
I sure wish I had saved some seeds.
I am on day 58 from seeding the cape gooseberry in an Aerogarden. I haven’t seen any flowers yet. How long before I should see flowers?
The cape gooseberries just literally showed up growing in my mothers yard and I have to assume that the birds brought them in? It’s a giant, trailing plant that’s full of pods. Sort of like a giant octopus. Enormous! We have to take the plant out as the property is being re-landscaped so I will attempt to transfer this beast. Fingers crossed. 🤞🏻
I live in Queensland Aust. Average temp. 35C.
First try at growing Cape Gooseberry in pots. Plants are growing well ( 50 cm) but the flowers are in the hundreds and the fruits are so small (largest 10mm) I will need thousands to do a pot of jam. I think I’m doing something wrong. I water morning and evening it is very dry here. Does anybody have any ideas?
Please help me